Shiitake contains compounds with hypoglycemic activity in a rat model of type 1 diabetes. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Hypoglycemic effect of a Lentinus edodes exo-polymer produced from a submerged mycelial culture.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2002 May;66(5):937-42. PMID: 12092843
The hypoglycemic effect of an exo-polymer produced from a submerged mycelial culture of Lentinus edodes was investigated in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The administration of the exo-polymer (200 mg/kg BW) reduced the plasma glucose level by as much as 21.5%, and increased plasma insulin by 22.1% as compared to the control group. It also lowered the plasma total cholesterol and triglyceride levels by 25.1 and 44.5%, respectively. Gel chromatography of the exo-polymer revealed a single peak which is likely to have been a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 52 kDa and was found to contain 83.5% carbohydrate and 16.5% protein. The Sugar and amino acid compositions of the exo-polymer were analyzed in detail.